Pablo Matera


Pablo Matera is an Argentine rugby union footballer who plays as a flanker for the Argentine Super Rugby side Jaguares. Before his arrival in Super Rugby, he played for Leicester Tigers in England and the Pampas XV in the South African Vodacom Cup. Matera has been a regular starter for Argentina in international rugby ever since his debut in 2013, having played over 50 tests for his country since.

Club career

Leicester Tigers

In October 2013, five months after his international debut, English Premiership side Leicester Tigers signed 20-year-old Matera until the end of the 2013–14 season. He initially signed as an injury replacement for Tom Croft. Matera scored his first try for the club in round 16 of the 2013–14 season against the Newcastle Falcons in an 18–41 victory at Kingston Park, Newcastle.

Jaguares

2016

Matera along with multiple Argentina national team players signed for the Jaguares ahead of the 2016 Super Rugby season after its inclusion into the competition. After just his second game Matera received a yellow card thirty three minutes into the game against the Sharks at Kings Park Stadium, Durban. Matera scored his first and only try for the season in the Jaguares outfit in just their fifth home game ever, in round 15 of their first season against South African team the Bulls in a 29–11 victory at the José Amalfitani Stadium, Buenos Aires.

2017

Matera scored his first & only try for the Jaguares in the 2017 season against the Waratahs in a 27–40 away win at Allianz Stadium, Sydney.

2018

Matera was named as captain of the Jaguares ahead of the 2018 season.

International career

Matera represented Argentina U20 in the 2012 and 2013 U20 World Championships.
He made his senior debut for Los Pumas against Chile in May 2013 and was subsequently named in the squad for the 2013 Rugby Championship where he featured in all the games of that campaign. Matera was a big feature for Argentina in the 2015 Rugby World Cup playing six of seven games for Los Pumas and helping them finish fourth overall.
Matera played his 50th test for Los Pumas on 18 August 2018 against South Africa, during round 1 on the 2018 Rugby Championship. The test was a 21-34 loss for Los Pumas, who bounced back to beat South Africa the following week. Despite Matera's good performances against South Africa, new Head Coach Mario Ledesma went on to bench Matera for the 8 September clash against New Zealand.

Super Rugby statistics